Arsenal play North London neighbors and bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur twice in league and cup at the Emirates this December with local bragging rights very much up for grabs.
Prior to the festive season double-header, there have been 182 North London derbies, with the Gunners having the better of it with 76 victories. Spurs, meanwhile, have just 57 victories and a further 49 official competitive matches between the two have finished as draws.
Although Tottenham (5/1) are more fancied in the Premier League winner odds without Manchester City with Paddy Power, Unai Emery has got Arsenal (13/1) on an 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions ahead of this December derby double.
In anticipation of another great couple of battles between the Gunners and Spurs, we take a look at four famous footballers that dared to cross the North London divide and played for both.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Togo frontman Emmanuel Adebayor is one of only two players in history – alongside Jimmy Robertson – to have played and scored in a North London derby. He didn’t directly cross the divide, as he was sold by Arsenal to Manchester City in the summer of 2009, but returned to the capital with Tottenham initially on loan in 2011.
Adebayor was more prolific at the Emirates than White Hart Lane with a Premier League goals to game ratio of 44 per cent at the Gunners, compared to just 38 per cent with Spurs. He also played for a third London club – Crystal Palace – after leaving Tottenham in 2015.
David Bentley
Ex-England winger David Bentley began his senior career with Arsenal but never made the grade, yet would later come back to haunt them in the derby. After a loan stint with Norwich City, he joined Blackburn Rovers and arguably played the best football of his career at Ewood Park under Mark Hughes.
However, in the summer of 2008 Bentley returned to North London with Tottenham and scored his first Premier League goal for them with a sublime dipping 40-yard-plus volley in a thrilling 4-4 derby draw.
Sol Campbell
By far the most controversial crossing of this divide was done by another old England international, Sol Campbell. The centre-back left Spurs on a free transfer in 2001 and joined Arsenal where he became an integral part of Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles.
To say Campbell leaving Tottenham for the Gunners stirred strong sentiments would be a major understatement. Outraged Spurs supporters called him Judas, but his decision to come to Arsenal is vindicated by two Premier League winners’ medals and a couple of FA Cups.
Campbell has recently followed in the footsteps of a number of key Wenger signings by going into management. He is in charge of the EFL League Two club Macclesfield Town.
William Gallas
Versatile former France defender William Gallas went from Chelsea to the Gunners and then Spurs during his 12-year Premier League career. He spent four years with Arsenal (2006-10) before making a free transfer to Tottenham.
Despite a wealth of experience, Gallas never really recaptured the heights of his glory days at Stamford Bridge at either the Emirates or the Lane. He is to date the only footballer to have played Premier League football for Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs.
